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HOUSTON (AP) The sixth-ranked Houston Cougars easily overcame the absence of injured quarterback Greg Ward Jr. as well as a 3 1/2-hour lightning delay for a 42-0 victory over Lamar on Saturday.
With Ward on the sidelines nursing an injured right shoulder , backup Kyle Postma ran 39 yards for a score in the first quarter in a game that lasted six hours, 18 minutes.
The Cougars had three players top 100 yards rushing for the first time since 1971, and piled up 381 yards on the ground. Kevrin Justice had 111 yards and two touchdowns, freshman Mulbah Car added 109 yards and a score in his debut and Postma scrambled for a career-high 106 yards with two TDs.
Dark clouds descended on the stadium soon after Postma's score, and a lightning strike forced the game to be suspended at 11:36 a.m. with 3:13 left in the first quarter.
Multiple lightning strikes followed, pushing the game back again and again. It wasn't raining at the beginning of the delay, and fans remained in their seats despite a warning to move to the concourse. It was a festive atmosphere, with many fans chanting and dancing, and at one point doing the wave.
But it began to rain at about 1:30 p.m. and chased all but a few fans out of their seats. By the time the game resumed at 3:12 p.m., the once mostly-full stands were dotted with many empty seats. The official time of the delay was three hours, 36 minutes.
It didn't take Houston (2-0) long to get going after the marathon delay, and a touchdown dive by Justice made it 14-0 with less than a minute left in the first quarter.
That score was the first of three straight touchdowns, which included a second score from Justice, which pushed the lead to 28-0 at halftime.
Some wondered if the Cougars would suffer a letdown after their huge win over then-No. 3 Oklahoma last week, or be looking past the FCS Cardinals (0-2) toward Thursday's American Athletic Conference opener at Cincinnati.
THE TAKEAWAY
LAMAR: The Cardinals should benefit from the experience of facing a top 10 team when they open Southland Conference play next week.
HOUSTON: The Cougars did what they were supposed to do against a lesser opponent and were able to give some of their banged-up starters a little bit of a break with a quick turnaround.
UP NEXT
LAMAR: The Cardinals host Sam Houston State on Saturday.
HOUSTON: The Cougars play at Cincinnati Thursday.
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AP college football website: collegefootball.ap.org
